The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 6 Part 11
“The Duke has sent a carriage. Please return now.”
With Laila and Charles dead, there was no point in wandering any longer. Jeremy thought of Anais, who had slipped from his grasp.
In reality, aside from dancing with her as his fiancée, he had never really been close to Anais. So it wouldn’t be correct to say she had left his side.
“Alright.”
‘I must have my revenge.’
He gritted his teeth, imagining a dream where he had Anais as his wife, with Laila and Charles by his side. Since that dream was shattered, someone had to pay the price.
* * *
The boy’s hair was damp with sweat, likely from a nightmare.
‘It’s no wonder.’
He had witnessed the servants being killed and had been kidnapped. The duke had ordered them to bring the illegitimate child alive but to kill his mother.
Keeping her alive would only cause trouble. Although the boy hadn’t seen his mother die, he had surely heard her screams and would hold a grudge.
“…Where are we taking this child?”
Even though he was an illegitimate child, he was still of the duke’s bloodline. The man asking didn’t seem keen on harming the boy despite him falling out of the duke’s favor.
“We’re putting him on a ship.”
“A ship? Where exactly are we sending him…?”
“That’s none of our concern.”
The leader knew the details but kept his mouth shut to his subordinates. It wasn’t beneficial for many people to know about it.
They had already sought out a disgraced priest to make the boy swear a blood oath. Essentially, they had made the child, who was in a position to inherit the title, sign a contract renouncing any claim to it.
Since they had secured such a contract, it would have been okay to let the boy go, however, the duke was not satisfied. He planned to take the boy to the port, put him on a ship, and instruct the crew to sell him as a slave.
‘That man has no mercy.’
The boy was only about seven years old. It seemed excessive to treat a child, who would soon barely remember his mother, so cruelly. But Duke Noer was ruthless. It seemed he was doing to his grandson what he had been unable to do to his own illegitimate son in the past.
It was unsettling, but they were the ones who had killed the boy’s mother. He might seek revenge if he returned, so there was no reason to stop the duke’s plans.
The carriage had already left the capital and was headed to the nearest port within the empire. Though it was the closest, it still took five days, so they had time. As they listened to the rattling of the carriage in silence…
“Gah!”
An arrow pierced the heart of the man riding at the back of the wagon, and he tumbled out. With a thud, an arrow lodged in the coachman’s neck, causing him to let go of the reins and slump over, shocking the mercenaries.
As another grabbed the reins and urged the horses, they saw the road was blocked by a fallen tree. They had to turn back.
In a hurry, the carriage stopped, and three of the five remaining mercenaries got out. None thought to use the unconscious boy as a hostage.
They suspected that Duke Noer might be trying to eliminate them to cover his tracks. Since it was a narrow, wooded path, they could potentially escape.
What to do? Should we run?
But while they hesitated, the opportunity vanished. Two armed riders appeared.
‘Just two?’
One of the attackers carried a bow on his back, and with just two of them, the mercenaries saw a glimmer of hope. They gritted their teeth and glanced at each other, their shouts of determination echoing through the dark forest path.
“Thanks to you, this job was easy,” said Demian, flicking the blood off the tip of his sword. Though two had followed on horseback, only one dismounted. The man with the bow made no move to draw his weapon, merely watching as Demian fought.
Demian Dubois, a knight of the Emperor, possessed enough skill to handle such situations alone. If he hadn’t been formidable, he wouldn’t have become an imperial knight or received the title of Viscount.
“You’re welcome. Now that you’ve accomplished your goal, I’ll be on my way,” said the other man.
Demian acknowledged him with a slight nod. The man had been assigned by the Emperor.
‘Thanks to him, I wasn’t too late.’
Demian approached the carriage with a bitter smile. Society often gossiped about a rivalry between him and Jeremy, but the reality was different.
Duke Noer would rather pass the dukedom to his nephew than to Demian, an illegitimate child. Demian’s mother had been a dancer, considered of low birth.
Even though the duke had forcibly made her his mistress and fathered a child, he still held this prejudice.
‘You are just like me.’
Both had lost their mothers to murder and had their lives threatened because of their bloodlines. Unlike Demian, Charles might have received some semblance of his father’s love, but Jeremy was far from being a true father who cared for his son.
If Jeremy had truly loved this child, he should have settled his affairs and fled with Laila long ago. That way, Laila would be safe, and the child wouldn’t have to endure such hardships.
Demian approached the carriage and lifted the child wrapped in a blanket. The Emperor had assigned the skilled archer to him, fearing that Laila or the child might be taken hostage.
“…Sorry I’m late.”
He whispered this as he carried the child towards the horse.
* * *
The autumn breeze was cool rather than cold. Watching the falling leaves, Anais instructed her attendants to prepare for a visit to the temple.
Part of it was to offer a prayer, but officially, there were some preparations for the Harvest Festival that needed her attention.
As Empress, summoning the High Priest would be easy, but this was her first major state event since becoming Empress, and she wanted to see things for herself.
